A Cross Rogue Christmas Story
---- Down in the southern part of Fiore, Snow was steadily falling from the sky, blanketing the landscape as winter was slowly creeping up on the small town of Hargeon. With the sun beginning to set under the horizon, the port town was flooded in green and red bright lights, with countless decorations spreading across the buildings and beside the sidewalks, bringing with them a kind of seasonal cheer for all resident who glanced over at them, all with the exception of a single discrete. At the center of town, a man wearing nothing but a worn out cloak to obscure his face and blue tunic, was observing the mass of people congregate at a large tree in the center of town from a small cafe beside the busy sidewalk, being Zoldis who was doing so in interest, placing two fingers on the side of his temple in contemplation at the spectacle before him. Beside him, he picks up a black helmet, finishes drinking a small refreshment he had bought earlier, and makes his way to the station. However, with the number of people out celebrating the holidays, it was evident he wasn't going to leave anytime soon. Originally arriving in town in order to take note on the recent garrison that was dispatched in the area, Zoldis, choosing to navigate in a less conspicuous manner, removed his guild master attire in order to blend in with the populace, maneuvering himself into getting closer to a platoon of knights stationed near the town plaza. It was evident that Zoldis wasn't the only Dark Mage in the area however as members of his own guild had also gathered in Hargeon, be it for their own personal reasons or by request. Cynthia and Vual had both made their way into town and was currently sitting down on a balcony that wasn't their own, how they'd managed to get there was a mystery of its own but the owners were fortunate enough to be out of town during this holiday time of year. Cynthia was clad in a less provocative clothing than usual in order to cope with the weather, wearing a long, double-breasted sleeve in a deep navy colour, the rest of her clothing matching a similar style and finally, a blue scarf made out of wool covering her lower face and mask. She was overlooking the crowd from up above, while her position made them stick out, it was also one that no one would really think of, making them hide in plain sight. Her head turning to her teammate, who was as usual smoking a cigarette: "Find anything?" Vual simply exhaled the smoke through his nostrils before giving a heavy yawn, "Sorry. Forgot what we were looking for again. I'd appreciate it though if you re-inform me of what we're doing here in this human city, let alone the time we chose to do it". He took the cigarette out of his mouth with one hand and grabbed a lighter from his side pocket with the other, lighting up the end of the cigarette carefully. His black coat draped down behind him and his hair was neatly slicked back like usual, however, the addition of a black scarf around his neck was the only thing new to his attire. Plucking the cigarette back into his mouth, Vual looked back at Cynthia with a dissatisfied look. "That scarf looks horrid on you." He criticized whilst holding the cigarette in the corner of his mouth. "He said to look for the new garrison in the town," from the backdrop the building's roof, a body of white vapours came trickling down in the form of a cloud, making the appear similar in form to chimney smoke, all to appear more natural with their surroundings. Oswald, taking out a flask, sloppily takes a drink while accidentally spilling some of it down his chin, wiping it away with his forearm as he took out a note listing their orders. "The jobs simple, find the new players in town, and wipe out the competition, no fuss no muss." He twists the flask closed, pushing it into his winter coat, "Pretty sure its overkill if we have to take care of it ourselves." He points northeast, moving his finger toward the northern region of the town that the garrison is located in based on the coordinates that came with the orders. The youngest of the group sighed loudly as he moved off from a wall. He shivered and looked at the snow before taking off his glasses to wipe them again. He hated Christmas. Great for stealing stuff but was useless when it came to hiding. Everyone was just so... white! He looked at his exceed in the hope the two would finally agree on something to find her trying to catch flakes in between her hands. He groaned again, wondering why he even had this exceed in the first place before looking at the oldest of the group, assuming that he was going to take charge. "How long will this take, I have to get ready for some business..." As always, the thief had plans. His card had been left and the guards were ready to meet him yet here he was in his average clothes and a large jacket. If only he didn't need the extra money. One of the main problems of having a big family, he noted in his head, sighing once more. Apep didn't look like she cared, the snow made her run around like a small child. This only grew more anger for Angra as he drew daggers at the girl. Heres' to hope that I can get rid of her soon! Taking a deep breath, he could feel his throat tighten from the cold air, staring off into the distance as he was face-to-face with the compound, being riddled with dozens of keeping guard from multiple directions. Standing with his back against the wall, he stood hidden behind a building, waiting for his wizards to get into position. And with a quick lunge for his helmet, the once hooded figure takes on the role as guild master, donning the mask as his robes began to fade away in favour of a black tuxedo. Climbing atop of a nearby building, he presses his hands together, causing them to glow with a dark green hue, and with a small whisper, he uses his magic to casts flames at the establishment, igniting the numerous flags attached atop of the walls and pole at the center of the encampment, leaving a trail of black smoke to drift high up in the sky that immediately draws the attention of everyone nearby, disorienting them on the direction of the attack. Acting as a means to signal those who can see it, he takes a step back and waits to see the events that are about to transpire before him, sitting in silent patience. Cynthia was somewhat relieved that someone other than herself explained things to this partner of hers. As useful as Vual is from time to time, and his motivation for power, he's sadly quite a pain to work with concerning missions that aren't in alignment with his own interests. Whilst ignoring Vual's comment about her scarf, Cynthia kept being on a lookout until seeing their guild master's signal over at the garrison. Not saying anything however but instead letting her actions speak for themselves, the Letter Mage started to create dark purple-like runes from her position and started making her way towards the fire by creating a pathway using these runes. She was creating them as she moved using a Parrying Dagger, there were five of them on each row as to only create enough space for one person. The first few were created to allow her to ascend further into the sky as if it were a staircase. Once being high enough so that the runes could hardly be seen due to their dark colours by those below. To her fellow guild members, it was up to them if they wanted to follow her using the runes, but they had to make haste as they were starting to fade after the twelfth row, causing each new one to remove another as she continued forward in a straight line until she reached one of the rooftops close to the garrison. Vual was familiar with Cynthia's magic and immediately followed after the Letter Mage, letting out a large breathe of smoke before ascending above the crowd. Walking along, Vual picked the cigarette from his mouth and took a glance at it, it's white body was has been shrunk down with a black end as tiny bits of burnt tobacco could be seen poking out from the other end, and the fiberglass filter was dried up despite having been stuck in Vual's mouth the whole time. Rolling his eyes, Vual flicked the used up cigarette from the platform and down to the crowd below carelessly, disappearing into the snow without a trace as the celebrating crowd walked without a clue underneath the dark mages. Vual grabbed out a small metal sphere with a button poking out from the shell from inside his coat, looking down at the crowd below him with an eager smile on his face. "How many mages you think are down there at this time? I wouldn't be surprised if there are quite a lot celebrating the season considering how many guilds are within the area." "Why bother asking how many dead men there are, by tomorrow, your probably going to forget anyways," running atop of the rune-produced flooring, he kicks off it and hurdles himself down into the encampment head first, his entire body collapsing from the fall in the form of a cloud of white smoke. As rows of knights began to surround his point of landing, Oswald pulls a sword from his jacket, a long katana that immediately confirms their suspicions about the sudden attack of their facility, causing them to open fire on him with a firing squad, riddling him with countless holes. In their wake, however, Oswald began to smile, with half of his face consisting of a hazy white residue and the rest of his body reforming, using his magic to spread himself out across the knights. With numerous clouds around, Oswald stretches them out and grabs the necks of numerous knights, squeezing them as hard as he can, jerking them upward into the sky until numerous snaps could be heard across from him. Slamming them into the ground, he lights a cigar, turning to see that reinforcements were steadily on their way. Angra smiled as he took off his glasses, as soon as he did this his eyes glowed a dangerous red colour. As he looked at the incoming attackers he could see red glows on certain parts of there bodies, some on back or legs. Weaknesses. “Apep,” Angra whispered and the girl nodded as she took out a long sword. “Left guy, sore back,” Angra muttered as he went to the right and attacked another person, he kicked them in the head and moved with ease before moving to the next guy and doing similar moves. He couldn’t help but sigh as the others used their magic. “Show offs,” he muttered moving swiftly onto the next person. Apep wasn’t doing as well herself, she wasn’t the usual one to do the attacking but rather just fly around for Angra, she swished her sword and clink with another. She pushed as hard as she could before groaning. I think I need to start working out. Walking into the compound, he glances around to see his guild hard at work, sorting his way through the rabble and into the main two-story building several meters away from him. Breaking down the door with a hard press from his hand, Zoldis quickly dispatches the guards stationed along the corridor with his bare hands, smashing the first guard's head against the wall while strangling the other with his spare hand to the point of suffocation. Lunging him behind him, he began made his way up the stairs, the noise from outside now creating a commotion that began to transform into an outright riot, luring not only knights, but neighboring wizards from the local guilds near their vicinity, adding to the body count. Having safely made it on top of one of the several buildings surrounding the garrison, Cynthia had begun writing a complex incantation while she was still under the cover of night and not sought after by neither guards or mages. As she stood there, uttering and writing down words from ancient times, a light began to emanate across the battlefield while more and more soldier and mages poured in from all side. When she was finally done, Cynthia released the spell and a dark-purple box displaying thousands of runes appeared throughout the whole area, effectively creating both a prison and a barrier. Since it was written in Ancient Writing Magic, the likelihood of there being another mage in the area capable of using this magic was basically zero and any inferior Letter Mages would never be able to transcript them, making it an unbreachable fortress for now. Cynthia had made sure that only people bearing their mark would be able to walk in and out without any backlash, effectively making this a slaughterhouse for the hordes of "good guys" currently inside the box. Vual however unlike his comrades did not have any useful abilities that could fit him into the slaughter. Having followed Cynthia all the way across her platform, Vual himself was finding trouble standing atop the rooftop without losing his balance on top of the tiled surface. He held onto the small metal ball and gently pressed the button, activating a ticking noise that smothered by the noise produced by their guild master. Walking over to the nearest corner of the roof, Vual proceeded to lift his foot and slam it into the roof, breaking through the tiles and the wooden skeleton that held the ceiling up. Having made a small hole in the roof of the room, Vual looked down through the hole to see several guards holes up, hiding from the ensuing chaos going on outside. Vual simply smiled and dropping the bomb through the hole just as it detonated. As the sphere was triggered, the shell popped and exerted a strange purple black gas that swiftly filled the room. "Oops. I forgot." Vual sarcastically fretted, quickly changing into a laugh within seconds. With the barrier up, it was obvious no one was going anywhere soon without Cynthia having anything to say about it. With the camp now looking like a cage match, Oswald felt a sense of exhilaration at the change of pace in the battle, now deciding to draw on his sword, swinging it in the air whilst in remained sheath inside the scabbard. Like a battering ram, Oswald began to swing his sword into numerous wizards nearby, sending them flying into them with extreme force as the blunt force lunged them through the nearby wall. As he paced his way through the crumbling hole, he began to repeatedly beating into them by slamming his sword directly on top of them. And during the entire ordeal, he couldn't help but think that it wasn't much longer before the rest of his posse of wizards would be done handling the pests that were plaguing them. Angra was handling the guards with ease but then came the wizards. The pests. He could see their weaknesses clearly but getting close to them was something of a different level, especially when they grouped together. "Apep, can you be useful for once?" He shouted, a sneer on his face. He didn't mind a challenge, but he always had to win one for it to be worth his time. Apep was busy herself, hacking and slashing at people. She placed her sword in her scabbard and ran towards Angra anyways. "Awwww, can the poor thief not take care of a few wizards," she teased as a puff of white smoke appeared around Apep. No longer was she a human but back to her normal self. An exceed. With her tail, she gripped around his stomach and took flight, swooping in towards the wizards before they even realised what was going on. A kick on the head there. A punch in the gut here. A grab for a watch. Apep shook her head. "You never change do you?" She got no answer. The smile in his eyes was enough to say that he didn't care. I was all part of the job description in his mind. Finally, at the top of the second floor, Zoldis couldn't help but notice the ruckus outside the building, the fighting nearly reaching its peak. Looking across the room, he scans his surroundings for the very object of his focus, a map providing the locations and routes belonging to Rune Knights, as well as detailed manuscripts in regards to most of the guilds in certain regions, allowing him to remain one step ahead of his contenders. Placing the documents under his coat, he dashes down the stairs, quickly making a gun gesture with his hand as he began to fire his magic out from his index and middle finger, dispatching the opposition of wizards and knights impeding his march forward. With a small tilt of his head at Cynthia's direction, he gives the signal to finish off the remaining rabble in a swift manner. Seeing her guild masters notion, Cynthia thought of a way to switch things up on not only a tactical level but also the temperature itself. Seeing as much of the remaining wizards and knights had grouped up in order to make a last stand for themselves, the dark mage started making her way to them using the same method she did earlier before standing about thirty feet above them unnoticed. She started to create write a word that was large enough as to cover the entire group before it soon started turning into a shining, bright red rune that would draw the attention of those below. As they looked up they would see the word of their impending doom, "Molten Lava", only to have it descend upon them and have its liquid form burn through them, burst into flames, before ultimately nothing remained of them. Seeing as leaving the lava around couldn't be good for any of them, Cynthia proceeded to cast "Hole" which caused a large hole to appear below the lava and have it find a new home below the surface, only to close it afterwards and descend down to the others. "Cynthia! We might have a problem..." a voice called out, loud footsteps sprinting towards her position. Vual emerged from one of the holes on the roof, running towards Cynthia only stopping when he nearly fell off the edge. He had a look of worry on his face, not that would concern him but his fellow accomplices. "You know those Magical Barrier Particle bombs I carry around?" He asked rhetorically only to swing his head back and point out the fast approaching purple-black cloud of gas coming through. The gas made the air thick and hard to breathe the closer it got, some of the wizards that Cynthia seemed to have missed ran through the doors choking as their skin began to turn blue. Veins were popping out all over as they struggled against the gas but to no avail simply dropped on the floor unconscious, sweating profusely. "I believe I don't have a problem with breathing it in, but for you and the others I'm not so sure..." he spoke shooting the words at a rapid pace. The purple cloud was making its way closer to the mages having already claimed the upper floors of the building. The purple smoke, now spreading and consuming everything in a lethal miasma, poisonous to nearly every magical being in its vicinity, leaving behind nothing but bodies in its wake. "That crazy psycho," immediately sprinting to the farthest ends of the compound, noticing the cloud of purple smoke gaining behind him. Placing his hand unto the ground, the rock and debris began to alter its shape and form, creating a hole into the ground that was several meters in length for him to hide in, all the while changing the stone into multi-layered walls for him to hold back the gas on top of him, keeping himself as far away from it as possible. It would be a miracle if anyone else would survive Vual's insane plan and still be in one piece. Angra was enjoying his time taking out guards and low-life wizards when he saw Oswald dig a hole and then bury himself. Confused he looked up to see the onslaught of dead bodies and gas. "Well, fuck that... Oswald, is that a good idea? Think you should run and get the fuck out of here!" and with that he simply allowed his exceed to fly out of the barrier He noticed a few wizards trying to do the same but to no avail, and as expected from Cynthia, he and Apep left the barrier without a second thought and no care. Once he thought he had got far enough he looked back to see this mess that was around him. "Well there goes simple murder for Christmas..." he shook his head as he landed on a building. "Better swoop around Apep, see any members then give them a hand and take them over here," he said but half-way through the sentence Apep was already gone. He shook his head and watched the gas and wizards scream. Zoldis couldn't help but worry at the sudden turn of events transpiring before him, it was evident that Vual's intentions, as incredibly extreme as they were, were good intentioned, as insane as it may have been, but it created a significant problem for him and the rest of the group. With a quick swing of his arms, Zoldis presses them both together in order to form a large magic seal directly in front of them, muttering a sequence of chants in order for the seal to light up around him. Separating them, Zoldis immediately cast one of his formula spells, teleporting himself outside of Cynthia's barrier. "If you guys are done playing around, its time to call it a day", his echoed beneath his mask, loud enough to be heard even among the choking and screaming inside the slaughterhouse that was once the encampment. Cynthia's first instinct was to check how the barrier was being affected by the Magical Barrier Particles as Vual had been closer than anyone to it, noticing how it was seemingly making no signs of breaking apart or any effects to it whatsoever. She looked back at Vual, cursing under her mask for the "man's" immortal nature before her body started to dissolve into several purple runes, repeating her Guild Master's move by teleporting herself outside. Cynthia reappeared on the other side of the barrier, in an area where she could get a closer look at the Magical Barrier Particle's reaction to her barrier. She saw that they were actively avoiding one another, Vual's poisonous particles were barely half an inch from the barrier and were moving around as if something was between them. Fascinating... I will need to experiment with this once we get back. Cynthia thought to herself as the screams inside the barrier was starting to fade away, leaving only Vual, Oswald and Apep inside it. Howls of laughter rushed out of Vual who watched his guild mates scatter from the Magical Barrier Particles, the sight of chaos satisfied his hungry eyes for amusement whilst watching both good and bad fearing for their lives. "Oh come on guys, its only just a little bit of." He marveled, inhaling loudly through his nostrils and embracing the particles around. Vual walked across the compound watching the wizards and guards of the garrison drop like flies, their requests for help completely ignored by the demon who watched in delight. Finding the edge of the area and passing through the purple barrier, pressing his body against it before it gave way to him. Back to the open, fresh air of Hargeon, Vual new that it wouldn't be long till his guild mates would find him and punish him for his actions, and that he would have to wait another time to enjoy the natural atmosphere of the port town. "Taxi?" he called out, drawing the attention of a nearby coach driver who handled a four horse drawn carriage. Throwing a coin purse to the man as soon as he approached him, Vual immediately invited himself in without a moment to spare. "Uh, where to sir?" the man asked surprised as he caught site of the aftermath Cross Rogue's attack. Vual simply smiled from within the carriage, peering out the window to see if any of his guild mates saw him, "Uh yeah. Bring me to Hell's Valley, just go to the outskirts of it, don't need to go actually in it." he instructed. The human was obviously nervous but looking at the coin purse helped him understand why. The coach driver took off into the streets with the horses squealing from the whip crackling behind them, their cries heard all across the vicinity that startled many people who approached the destroyed garrison. Shifting through the earth by altering his body to match his environment, he made his way out on the outside of the barrier across the street Vual was using to ride outside the city, with the ground beginning to contort itself into the shape of large caped man made from stone, his body slowly changing to reveal Oswald, using his magic to re-alter himself, with most of his features revealing a face half cracked with rock and debris. Slowly lugging himself from the ground with one hand, his body was slowly returning to its original state, with the only thought running through his head being the fact that Vual had almost killed him. Grabbing his sword with both hands, Oswald charges head first toward the horses, beheading them on his way to the carriage wheels, jamming his sword in between them in order to flip the coach with an immediate stop. With the sudden brake, the coach went flying on its side, careening across the street and into a flower shop, killing coachman on impact. "You see Vual, this is why you can't have nice things," with a quick motion, Oswald takes the coin purse he had payed the man with, seeing as how he's not going to need it where he's going, "I'm glad we had this talk." He turns to face the opposite direction, wondering if the last of them made it out alive. Angra came down from the top of the building after seeing the magic barrier keeping the magic particles and smiled. He stood next to his guild master and smiled. "Well that was easy... and different," Angra looked at his guild master and shrugged as he looked at the barrier. He decided he too would pay his respect to Vual as he looked at him. "Hey, Vual, next time your walkig around the guild, just remind I know all your weaknesses, hope you don't mind a kick here and there if you get a dodgy back!" Apep was having a lot less fun. After leaving the magic barrier once more due to her being unable to see anyone and finding ut they had instead got themselves out by there own means she sighed.She landed on the ground and transformed back into her human frm before standing behind Angra, a sneer was on her face. "Next time you leave me for dead, we will see what happens when I just drop you in the middle of a get away from the magic council will we?" Safely on the outside of the barrier, Zoldis couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment at the harrowing feats that had transpired today, even after the much grittier aspects had resulted in more deaths than he had originally planned, but were within the acceptable margins nonetheless. Waltzing along the street, he converges with his wizards, holding up to display the goal they set out to obtain. With everything well and done, the barrier fell down, allowing the gas to flood down to the town, too focused on their accomplishment to notice it flying down to the town. Noticing one of the local taverns vacant after their tussle in the knight encampment, Zoldis welcomes them all for drinks, handing each of them a mug. As he filled up them up with their share of the drinks, he lifted his up, toasting to the new year, hoping it would be another great year for Cross Rogue.